pig in a python
n.— «The intense pressure to raise money comes from various sources. One of the most important is the doubling of caucuses and primaries from nine to 18 in early March 1988-a series of post-Iowa and New Hampshire contests requiring extensive organization in 1987 and massive infusions of cash in late February 1988 through the first week of March. “It’s a pig in a python,” Atwater said.» —“Fund-Raising as Preoccupation; Early Advantage Becomes More Critical” by Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Apr. 15, 1987. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...